Collide
by fresitaazul
Summary: What if Edward and Bella didn’t meet in Forks, WA during high school, but in Seattle as they both work as editors for the same publishing firm. They both have different partners at the time, but fall crazy in love for each other anyway.
1. Chapter 1

TITTLE: COLLIDE

AUTHOR: fresitaazul

PAIRINGS: Edward and Bella, Bella and Jacob, Edward and Tanya – Don't worry, based mostly on Edward and Bella.

RATING: M (for sexual content and adult language)

CATEGORY: Romance, angst, drama, fantasy

WARNINGS: contains sexual content, and adult language and situations.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the characters in this story, nor do I expect any type of monetary compensation for my writing below. I only use them for fun, to play around with the storyline and characters for a bit! Thank you Stephanie Meyer for the world you created. You are an inspiration to many.

SUMMARY: What if Edward and Bella didn't meet in Forks, WA during high school, but in Seattle as they both work as editors for the same publishing firm? They both have different partners at the time, but fall crazy in love for each other anyway. This creates a lot of problems, as you all can imagine. ENJOY!

FEEDBACK: very much appreciated! Thank you all in advance for reading.

CHAPTER 1

I woke up with the awful sense of desolation and frustration that I hadn't experienced since I first laid eyes on him. Jacob was still sleeping in the small guest bedroom that we usually saved for when Renee or Charlie came to visit, and my heart fell deeper into my stomach at the realization that we might never share a bed again. I turned my body sideways curling it into a ball, hoping the new light of a fresh day would wipe away the blatant truths Jake and I had told each other so shamelessly only hours before. My eyes were swollen, and my left cheek felt sticky against the pillow, from the mixture of smudged mascara, tears and saliva. I had cried myself to sleep, wishing vehemently I could erase myself away from existence.

"You broke my heart, Bella," Jacob had said at last.

And he wasn't lying. He wasn't exaggerating either, which was usually his style.

"I'm sorry." Were the only words my poor, sorry, and humiliated spirit could give my faithful and torn down boyfriend.

I felt fresh tears welling in my eyes, and they spilled fearfully as I heard him enter our bedroom without trying to mask his presence from me. I was afraid to look at him; my face was the concept of dishonor, and embarrassment. He sat at the edge of his side of the bed, the warmth of his body already increasing the temperature in the small space between us.

His unnaturally high body heat was one of the reasons I had initially been attracted to him – never failing to provide heat in the cold, rainy days and nights of the tiny city of Forks, Washington, where we had met.

"Bella," He finally said after minutes that seem eternal and tortuous. "I'm leaving for a while."

My body turned to him with innate precision. I couldn't deny that I saw this coming, but the pain in my heart increased at the thought of him parting away from me. Yes, I was that selfish.

"No, Jake. Please," I even dared to say. I almost begged. The look in his eyes became tremendously angry.

"Please what, Bella?" A menacing tone obscured the tenderness of his normally friendly voice. "Stay here and watch while you destroy your life after you have already demolished mine? While you give yourself willingly to him? While you let him kill you?!" The color of his voice was punishing and desperate.

He shook his head as he stood from his spot, and then straddled me against the headboard. "You have some nerve, Isabella Swan."

The depth in his almost black eyes was even darker than night. I knew what he could do, and I knew what he was capable of doing without a single care for consequences. He was in no certain terms a coward, and he was the most impulsive person I knew. If he was leaving, it was because the thought of killing me himself had already crossed his mind. But not even the power of his cursed body, would renounce to his unbelievably wonderful heart. It burst out of his chest with love, most of the times.

I shivered with so much intensity, that the large and strong hands that were grasping my shoulders fell to the sides, and landed on the over-sized pillow my head was glued to. His body created a cage from which I couldn't escape, even if I tried my hardest to. Jake had never hurt me, but he could do so if he wanted.

Instead, his mouth descended on mine, livid, raw, and animalistic.

I tried to fight it. But my guilty heart, and my confusedly aroused body gave into his demanding pleasure. His rough fingers dogged into my skin, cupping my breasts, scratching the tender skin there. One of his hands traveled down my stomach, finding the elastic of my underwear below. I froze.

He felt my body go suddenly stiff, and his eyes met mine for the first time since his insane sexual outburst. Once their black touched my brown - tears still falling down my face - he jumped off me, and stood at the end of the bed. Suddenly, as if he was disgusted for touching me in the first place.

And he broke my heart to a million pieces more. The accusation and repulse of his expression had me sobbing even harder than before. The betrayal of his body, still wanting mine so much, made him turn his back on me so he could hide it. His embarrassment of his still undying love for me, made all the human threads of my tainted soul hurt unbearably so. He punched the wall hard, once. Twice. His feet kicked the chair where I kept my clothes from the day before, scattering my garments all over the floor. And then, I watched as he began to transform into the animal I had never before feared, but which was now only showing up to destroy me.

In a matter of seconds, a gush of wind blew through my window, and I watched as the two opposite supernatural forces of my life fought each other to death – with me, sitting helplessly and hopelessly in my bed - crying and begging them to stop.


	2. Chapter 2

For disclaimer and rating information, please refer to Chapter 1.

Thank you for reading! Enjoy.

CHAPTER 2

Jacob growled, and Edward snarled. The wolf - attacking the intruder of our house and our hearts - went for the kill, as his fangs tried to make contact with his neck. But the vampire was faster. He moved rapidly towards me, his arms wrapping under my legs and arms, and we jumped out the window like a spark, and flashed into the first lights of the morning.

I don't remember how long we ran through the city and past the mountains, but by the time I opened my eyes, Edward was laying me down on a bed, somewhere warm and bright.

I watched as he closed the thick and heavy curtains, switched the bedside lamp on, and returned from the bathroom with a plain white robe, which he gently placed beside me.

My eyes were lost somewhere between the fight and the trip. My body shivered again, and my eyes felt dry from all the tears they had shed in the last twenty-four hours.

Edward sat beside me, careful not to touch me with his cold as ice hands. But his golden eyes shone with preoccupation and fear. Not fear of the wolf, but fear for me.

I looked around us, and acknowledged he had probably taken us somewhere in a different city, a different state, because the decoration of the room clearly portrayed a little more of a beachside location.

"Where are we?" Was the first question I asked him, as my eyes finally locked with his.

"San Diego," He responded simply, daring to trace his long, hard fingers against my bare and shacking arm. "Please put this on, Bella," He pointed to the robe at my side, and gave me a tentative smile.

He stood and turned from me, wanting to give me some privacy – even though he had carried me semi-naked down the United States western coast. I knelled on the bed, and wrapped myself in the robe, as well as the down comforter at my feet. I was frozen cold, but began to feel the warmth built up quickly.

I heard Edward call room service, requesting a very large quantity of food he was planning to force me eat. I was everything but hungry, even though my stomach was currently protesting.

"How did you…" I finally asked, unable to finish my sentence.

"I was on my way to your apartment this afternoon, when Alice alerted me earlier today that your father and mother would be arriving for your funeral tomorrow." His words turned dark and deeply menacing. "If I see Jacob Black again, I will kill him Bella," He was back on the bed with me, his hands finally taking mine inside his, and his gaze warningly holding mine. "You are the only reason I let him live, because I had to get you out. But he was going to kill you today."

I shook my head hard in disbelief. "No, he would never—"

"Really? Why do you think he was transformed, then?" His voice was grave and even darker than before.

"He does that when he looses his temper. He would never hurt me," I tried to convince him, but mostly, I knew I was trying to convince myself. Thankfully he couldn't read my mind; otherwise, my attempts would have been worthless.

But Edward was no fool, and my little argument proved useless anyway. And he knew what a man with a broken heart would be capable of doing. He had almost lost it himself. So, he hugged my shoulders and kissed my forehead with his frozen lips. "Bella, your heart has too much love inside. I'm not sure any of us deserves it."

I fought free of his embrace, and only succeeded because Edward always did as I asked him, not because I could fight off his strength. "No. Edward, Jake would never, ever hurt me. Ever." My eyes darted firmly to his, protesting against his patronizing demeanor. "He transformed because he knew you'd come. Nothing more."

Edward closed his eyes, trying hard to control his own temper. I was stubborn when it came to defending Jake with Edward. And vice versa. They had hated each other the moment they had met, and rightfully so….

I had graduated magna cum laude from the University of Oregon three years ago, making my mother, and mostly my father, unbelievably proud. With a degree in Creative Writing, and a minor in English, I landed an internship at a major publishing firm in downtown Seattle, six months before I graduated. As soon as I had my diploma in hand, my boss – editor in chief and unstoppable guide, and mentor – Jeremy Richardson, immediately hired me to take over the position as associate editor in the firm, to quickly be promoted as editor. I was ecstatic.

With ridiculous excitement, I had managed to finish high school in Forks, Washington. Academically, I was beyond my age, so classes were insanely boring. I barely pushed myself through assignments, and was in no terms challenged by the workload provided. I was craving graduation day, and the only thing that made my days – and long cold lights – livable, was the presence of Jacob Black.

Jacob lived in the Quileute reservation, just some miles from where our house was in Forks. He went to school there as well, so we only got together during summer breaks, and after school. The first year, I barely noticed the guy; his father, Billy Black, was one of my father's best and closest friends. Hence, their very often get-togethers were bound to bring Jake and I together as well.

Jake was one year younger than me. So, when I moved to Forks, his sixteen years of age looked awfully bad against my full seventeen. I saw him as a child still. We began as good friends, great even. And a year later, I began to feel more deeply for him than before. Jake on the other hand, had been infatuated with me from the get go, and his persistence and perseverance, landed him our first date, exactly a year after we met. And of all the predictable ways a teenage boy can invite a teenage girl out, he took me to see a gory, failure of a scary movie. Regardless, he did impress me that night, and given that our friendship was so strong and tight, I gave into my immense feelings for him.

Was it love? Yes. Was I madly in love with Jake? Not really. He was my safe bet; my security blanket, in a world where I had no constants. My mother, recently married to her younger husband, had moved to Jacksonville. And my father, the town's sheriff, was so used to solitude, he barely managed to eat dinner with me at night, and talk to me about school and chores.

But Jake ignited a sense of comedy, stability and light in my life. He was in fact, unique in his own way. We had fun together; his dream to be a mechanic soon came true, as he began to work at a shop, to pay for his college education. We attended the same college, but did not live together until after we both left Portland, and went to work in Seattle.

In fact, we didn't sleep together until a couple of months after I graduated high school. He didn't pressure me, and I always had a nagging feeling I was not exactly where I had to be. And not with whom I was meant to be, either. Our first night began as a disaster, but ended up nicely. He had already grown into a tall and strong, muscular, dark-haired, and dark-skinned man. And of course, I was not immune to his undoubtedly sex appeal. Besides, he had a way with me, a gift, to make me smile regardless of how much he usually screwed things up because of his impulsive temper.

I had given into my carnal desires, knowing I would somehow break his heart eventually. He had taken care of me, as if I were a porcelain doll; which doesn't necessarily make it beautiful. I was more annoyed that anything else. I wanted him to go nuts - to ravish me with love and passion, not holding back, as if he was going to hurt me.

Still, I went back for more, and all the nights afterwards got better, and more satisfying. Jacob was a terrific lover; and once we got an apartment together in Seattle, I looked forward to the passion we gladly took from our bodies and explosive hormones.

Then one night specifically as I returned home from work, exhausted and hungry, I watched his manly figure as it was my undoing. He waited for me at the kitchen – like usual – dinner cooking in the oven, and him dressed in no more than shorts (this was December, during the coldest months in the city). The bare sight of him, all his muscles pumping and begging to be caressed, I ran to him, kissed him, and dinner was quickly forgotten.

Once in bed, after we had satisfied our sexual appetite for one another, I turned to him as we picked on the cold plate of chicken with our hands.

"Ron got fired today," I said, covering my full mouth.

"Yeah?" He said absent-mindedly. "What did he do, work?" He said with a chuckle. He knew I despised the guy; cocky, selfish and lazy. He was my senior editor, and he had no problem dumping all his work on me. On a daily basis.

I laughed, accidentally spitting some of my food onto his cheek.

"Yuk, Bella! Swallow before you laugh, why don't ya!?" He jokingly said, wiping his face with the sheets.

"Jake! I just washed those!" I whined, pulling the sheets from his hands.

"I suppose you'd have to wash them tomorrow anyway. What with all the action they got tonight and all," His suggestive tone, earned him a playful punch on the shoulder.

"He was pissed," I continued my story, ignoring his sexual innuendos, as usual. "He went apeshit on the hallway, not before he yelled at me for no good reason. I guess I was guilty of every single bad thing that ever happened to that poor bastard," I walked to the kitchen, wearing nothing but my boyshorts underwear. I returned to the bed, and blushed at how sinfully he ogled my exposed breasts.

I hit him again, causing him to pounce at me and crush my body under his. His mouth found mine again, the grease of the chicken mixing together with our tongues and sloppy kisses.

I pushed him to the side, and even though he was a good foot and a half taller than me, and was more than one hundred pounds heaver, he obeyed my request.

"This is important," I eyed him seriously then. He looked at me with sad, punished puppy eyes, coupled with a little sweet pout.

"Oh, stop it!" I decided to cover my chest, to make him concentrate on my face instead. I reached for the discarded white buttoned shirt I'd wore to work, and put it on without caring to button it all the way down.

"A new editor is starting tomorrow," I finally said.

"Lets hope it's a girl. you need a girlfriend, babe," His eyes found my suddenly menacing ones. "What?"

"First off, don't call me babe. And second… what are you talking about?" I was offended. Was I really that lonely? He apparently thought so.

"You've never said it, but you know you want it," His eyebrows rose high, waggling suggestively.

"You're a pervert, you know that, right?" I picked the empty plate from the bed, and dumped it carelessly in the sink. The dishes could wait until tomorrow. Right now, Jake was going to get a beating.

"I'll have you know, I've never needed a girlfriend. I do very well on my own, thank you very much." My defensive streak couldn't do much good with Jacob, who knew me better than anyone. He had only ever met Angela, the one and only girlfriend I'd ever had. She had moved to California after high school, happily getting away from the torturing cold and rain of the North Pacific Coast. We barely kept in touch via emails every other month. "Besides," I continue defending my initial point, and making a point to remember to email Angela the next day, "The new person will still be my boss."

"Doesn't mean you can bond, does it?"

I made a face. One of disgust. "No, but she or he, will still be my boss. There are lines that should not be crossed."

"Oh Bella, please! That is so retarded. You can be friends with your boss," Jacob said in between chuckles. "Why and how are you so fucking old school?"

"Hey! No need for profanities, buddy!" I reprimanded. But Jake ignored me.

"Look, all I'm saying is, you need a friend. Who knows? Maybe this person could your next BFF," He suggested, mockingly.

"Ass." I said with narrow eyes, and a hurt ego. So he thought I needed friends? He thought I was lonely… and desperate? I guessed he enjoyed snuggling the pillows in the couch after all. He knew that was coming.

"Thought you said no profanities, Miss Swan. Hmm, that mouth of yours…" He shook his head, and walked naked to the bathroom. When he returned – still showing off all his naked glory - he laid over me, his hand caressing my face. "You know I love all your lonely, needy self. That means, more of you for me," His kisses traveled from my face, to my neck, to my still covered chest. He trailed the path to my navel, but when he reached the top of my shorts, I pulled his face up to meet mine.

"Forget it, all your boyfriend benefits have been denied for the rest of the night. Now, put your clothes on, and let me sleep. I have to get my beauty rest to meet my new boss tomorrow," I said seriously, as I turned away from him, onto my side.

He laughed, kissed my shoulder, and wrapped his warm, powerful arm around my waist.

"What's the name?" He spoke against the back my neck.

"Hmm?" I murmured, sleep dawning on me quickly.

"The new editor, what's her name?" He repeated, his voice beginning to fade as well.

"_His_ name is Edward Cullen."

TBC……


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Please turn to Chapter One for all Disclaimer information.

This story has not been BETA. Any grammatical mistakes are mine, so I apologize. I am trying my hardest to proof read multiple times to avoid any embarrassing mistakes. I am also writing this on my own as a personal learning exercise and challenge.

Author notes: To those reading, THANK YOU. I am sorry it's taken so long to update, for real life has dawn on me quite heavily lately! I hope you enjoy the story still, and I promise to update as often as I can.

Thanks again.

"Please find my senior editor. Now." Edward firmly told Mary, the receptionist, just as I walked into the suddenly silent and tense office.

She looked my way, signaling him she had just found me.

He turned from the front desk, all his tall, lean, awfully perfect frame, sending all the wrong, sexual signals straight at me.

My body – and face – reacted, quickly shaking and blushing, embarrassingly evident.

He looked at me, his golden eyes fierce and turning darker with every second he spent glaring at me, from top to bottom.

When his eyes met mine, after the inspection that didn't seem to fulfill his expectations, he seemed to stop breathing all together. "Miss Swan?" He spoke, his voice stiff and forced.

"Yes," I nodded, extending my hand to him. "Mr. Cullen, I am very sorry I'm late, I usually never am, but – "

"Ms. Swan, please come see me in my office." He interrupted without accepting my greeting, and stormed away from the preying eyes surrounding us.

I stood motionless, my knees beginning to buckle. Mary gave me an apologetic smile and returned to her tasks, as did the rest of the people in the office.

Of all the days my old car had to crush and die, it had to be the day I was meeting my new boss. Of all the times Jacob had begged me – implored me – to sell the old thing to his garage to strip down for parts (I refused to watch my beloved Chevy being murdered), it was bound to happen that I would be left in the middle of a traffic jam, struggling without success to get my truck to live again. After thirty minutes of endless struggle and heavy outbursts of anger, I had give up and called Jake to my rescue. A toll truck came and took my car away – the gift Charlie had given me when I had moved with him back to Forks. That truck had accompanied me to all the challenges and struggles of my live in the last four years. It had never failed. Until that very memorable day.

I pulled myself together and walked decisively to his office. He had to be fuming by now.

I didn't have to knock, the door was cracked open and through it, our eyes met. The amount of hate that he spewed my way was incredible. I couldn't believe me being late one miserable hour – for circumstances completely out of my control - could damage the untainted reputation I held at the firm. I was an outstanding worker, and writer. His mood was unjust and ridiculous.

I stepped into his office ready to defend myself, and again, I watched as he held his breath. Did I smell? I probably sweat a little more that morning in my struggle to salvage my truck, but I hardly thought it could be so unbearable.

His eyes looked from my face to the chair farthest from him as possible.

_'Was this guy for real?'_ I thought angrily. And I thought there could never be an asshole bigger than Ron. Obviously, I had been mistaken.

"Mr. Cullen, I-"

"Do you have the second draft for the Allen account?" He immediately interrupted me, depriving me of giving him the logical explanation for my delay.

"Yes, sir, I do. But –"

"Please bring it to me." He sharply ordered.

I was speechless, and my ego was rapidly braking. So, I retreated to my desk, and begged to ignore the tears beginning to well in my eyes. Kara, my co-worker and closest acquaintance in the firm, came around and sat at the edge of my desk.

"He's a hottie, isn't he?" She said, dreamily looking towards Cullen's office.

I glared at her, thinking her cynical remark was very inappropriate. Nope. Her eyes were sweetly glued to the small glance we caught of his form, from where we both sat.

She sighed, and returned to her desk unaffected. Had she missed the way the absolute jerk had treated me? Was she _drunk_? I watched as she sat, still in a strange trance, and then began to type, her eyes fluttering.

Kara had eyes that fluttered. That was a phrase I never would have used to describe my co-worker's behavior. She was a tough cookie - which was why we got along so well. But apparently, her evil twin had come to work that day, and was making my already nightmarish morning, even more tragic.

I gathered the manuscript, and prepared to face the devil-in-disguise-of-my-very-attractive-boss again.

He stood by the window, the blinds closed and the room dark and menacing. I shivered unintentionally. He extended his hand, asking for the papers my shaking hands held. I saw my arm reach to his, and like my clumsy self was to be expected to react, I dropped the entire one hundred or so pages onto the wooden floor below us. His eyes burnt with anger. And hate. And extreme annoyance.

I apologized four times in a row. He remained silent and standing, frozen in his place, while I leaned down and picked up the scattered pages. I wrinkled a few and felt my hands humid with cold sweat, and I could imagine him rolling his eyes at my amateur and nervous behavior.

I handed him the manuscript – after clumsily organizing it as I stood – and for a second, I could feel his intense gaze flash a hint of humor at my precarious situation.

"Miss Swan, please relax." He then said, his face changing, his eyes relaxing.

_Huh? _One moment he was about to swallow me whole, and the next, he was trying to be… nice?

I went pale. And watched as he actually sat and chuckled.

So I had gone from annoying to funny, in less than a minute.

Funny.

"I feel that I should apologize for my mood. I am sorry," He said, his voice almost musical.

I straightened my head and diverted my eyes to the shut blinds to my right. I managed a forced smile and looked up at him after a minute, gathering my patience and some respect for whom was now my boss.

Woo-fucking-hoo.

He had a lopsided smile, as he watched my inner struggle. And his eyes dazzled me.

"Is there anything else you need, Mr. Cullen?" I asked, swallowing what I really wanted to say: _You are an asswhole, and I would much rather work with Ron for the rest of my days, than to have to endure you using your beautiful, perfect self to get what you want. _

I smiled a little, as the words spoke inside my head, and somehow wished the idiot looking at me could read my mind.

His eyes changed, and the small smile disappeared.

"No. Thank you." He said, his face becoming hard as stone once again. That time though, he didn't reflect anger, but intrigue.

I stood, and walked out, furry building up again. His eyes followed me, I could feel them digging onto my back. When I reached my desk, our eyes met unwillingly on my part, and I discovered there was a slight possibility, the asshole had actually read my mind after all.

I smiled irreverently at him, wishing that last thought was in fact true. And so, his eyes left mine, and he stood to close the blinds that separated his window from my cubicle entirely.

The day I met Edward Cullen, I called I taxi from my office at exactly five o' clock and went directly home, instead of going to the library like I usually did, to study for the GRE I was preparing to take the following month. I was furious, indignated, and agitated. Since my car was already dead – getting ready to be stripped to pieces at my boyfriend's garage – I had no patience to read, or frame of mind to concentrate and study. I wanted to take a long, hot shower, wear my favorite sweats, and eat as many slices of pizza I could stomach.

By the time Jacob got home, I was full of carbohydrates and a few glasses of wine. The second thing working on his favor, because my hormones usually had a mind of their own every time alcohol met the blood in my veins. We had sex the moment he walked in the door, and then again, before we went to sleep. My feminine instincts were mixing every ounce of confusion, insult and mortifying attraction Cullen had shamelessly implanted on me earlier that day. I only knew two ways to release tension: reading and sex.

As I lay naked, my chest rising with exhaustion and sated pleasure, Jake stared at me all too knowingly.

"Bella," He finally spoke, his words coming guarded and preoccupied.

I turned my head toward him, my tired eyes meeting his suddenly anxious ones.

"What's up?" he asked, as his hand traced my arm tenderly, landing finally around my stomach. His finger played with the hollow of my navel.

I raised my eyebrows, not understanding his questioning.

"Obviously, I'm not complaining about the sex. Really. Anytime you feel like jumping me, please do so. But," He paused only to drag my body flushed against his warmth. "Something happened. Other that the truck dying."

The dark brown on his irises darkened even more, as my lighter brown ones reflected on his. His eternal kindness and open soul humbled me. It surpassed any bugging thought Edward could have rooted on me. But it still bothered me and I felt ashamed, not even understanding why. It wasn't only that him and I had not started on the right track, but that I felt an oddity to his whole demeanor.

"I met my boss today," I finally told Jake, my hands trembling a little as I held his muscular biceps.

"Oh?"

"He's an idiot." I completed quickly, a little to heatedly to be talking about someone I had just met.

I ended the conversation by kissing his lips and closing my eyes.

Jake didn't move, or relaxed once I snuggled against him. He clearly wanted me to elaborate. And I had nothing else to add to the simple conclusion I had reached regarding Cullen. He was an idiot, and he was my boss. So basically, I had two options: I either came to terms with our inevitability to get along, or I ultimately quit. The second option wasn't completely ludicrous; I was going to Graduate School anyway. What were a couple of months of minimum torture beside the enigmatic man?

Unfortunately for me, I was unaware of the power our brief meeting had in my unscrupulous mind, because his face and his intriguing energy were the only things hunting my dreams later that night – even after I had made love to the man sleeping beside me only a few hours before.

TBC….


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